Lawyer Kris Kiefer says he will drop out of race for family court judgeship on Thursday

Kris Kiefer said Wednesday that he will withdraw from a spring special election for New Orleans' first family court judgeship, effectively handing the job to his lone remaining opponent, Bernadette D'Souza. Kiefer, who said he plans to file paperwork with the Secretary of State's office on Thursday, said he is taking his name off the ballot to focus on his law practice and his family.

Bernadette D'Souza, left, will take Civil Court bench if Kris Kiefer, right, drops out of the race on Thursday

"I've neglected my work and my family since I ran for Civil Court last year,'' Kiefer said. "I think Ms. D'Souza will be a great family court judge.''

Kiefer invested more than $350,000 of his own money and raised nearly $200,000 in contributions for the earlier contest for a different Civil Court seat, finishing third in the October primary. His latest campaign finance report showed that he had raised no money for the March 24 election.

D'Souza, a longtime legal aid attorney, emerged quickly as the chosen candidate of the city's political and legal establishments.

Last month, her campaign rolled out an impressive list of more than 400 endorsements that included nearly two dozen elected officials and scores of lawyers.

Kiefer is the second candidate to drop out of the race. Janet Ahern, who has had a domestic law practice for 18 years, withdrew four weeks ago.

The Civil Court seat opened up last fall when Judge Herbert Cade was elected to Traffic Court. During the last legislative session, state lawmakers decided to make the next two open seats at Civil District Court into specialty judgeships that deal with family court matters.

Both Kiefer and Ahern said they may run again in the future.

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Frank Donze can be reached at fdonze@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3328.